I honestly feel it will extend into infinity. I am only 30oz in for silver mainly because I couldn't afford any gold at the time (no one sells 1/4 grams unfortunately). The GSR is my only temptation to buy silver. If I ignore that given it has its flaws, silver has nothing going for it that gold can't do better for me.
Just a thought / question..... retail demand is through the roof and it's near impossible to get a silver or gold bar (from a retail bullion dealer) short of 400oz gold bar or some over priced coins... but dealers such as ABC Bullion have their allocated program still available (according to their web site). So if one buys unallocated or allocated gold or silver and the dealer is supposed to have that gold and silver on hand to place aside in storage, where are they getting the bullion from to match unallocated / allocated purchases being made now???? I can't imagine they are holding silver and gold back to meet such purchases as they can easily sell for high premium over the counter.... Am I missing something in this regard?
They are buying 1000oz bars to suffice allocated demand, or not holding anything at all. Likely the second part. I know for sure there is nothing being held to cover unallocated orders as this is used for working inventory, and given the demand it definitely will not be replaced by store close. Whenever you buy allocated/unallocated metals you are buying nothing more than the paper spot price.
I believe that the 400 oz bar you mentioned would form the backbone of the allocation to their customers The allocated customers orders would be processed then stored from the large wholesale bar. The unallocated would be just the book entry for the customers order.
Perth Mint allocated program has existing bars you can chose from (all silver bars except 1000oz and 1kg are gone, gold still available in 1oz and up). Both Perth mint and ABC are refineries, so they can make their own to order, but yeah, the smaller dealers surely it's not possible?
No. When you buy allocated metal you are buying an actual bar that is legally stored in your name and taken off the company books. If the bar does not exist then that is fraud and they can go to jail for that.
If you're talking about Perth Mint, sure. If you're talking about a smaller store front, you're dreaming if they reserve bars for you daily when you order unallocated at midnight.
When Mike Maleney stops talking about silver, the bottom is near if not already passed. I mean how much lower can spot silver go when physical is selling at 10% or higher premium? I've only listened to 2 of his videos and stopped listening. It's a waste of time. Nowadays I just listen to straight talkers like Marc Faber and some others.
Consider that it's not the best idea to categorize all physical silver in the same boat. 10% isn't realistic for sort after bullion coins and bars. 50oz older style Perth Mint silver bars go for a huge premium over spot as does many of the Lunar silver coins of various sizes. Silver just isn't silver.
If you ignore his silver shilling, Mike produces has some of the best graphs and data in the business.
That's the entire point of unallocated! It's in the name "un" as in "not allocated". That's the risk you take with unallocated, there is no metal "reserved" for you, it's essentially just there (or maybe not) as part of their working inventory. That's as true for the Perth mint as it is for any dealer. If the company goes bust you have no recourse if there if no metal left (Perth mint is different in that unallocated is also government guaranteed) Allocated is allocated. If you buy allocated from any dealer (not just Perth Mint), they must set aside a physical bar for you and take it off the company books, you become the legal owner. If they don't do that then that's fraud. It should also be discovered in any independent audit, or you can go and physically inspect the metal yourself.
All fair points. I guess the only feasible way unallocated works is that it's via the dealers wholesale depository with Perth Mint. Whenever you order Unallocated they just top up their wholesale account with Perth Mint if there is a shortage of physical for delivery.
If you want to know what unallocated is for your particular supplier, just read the terms and conditions. Usually it's "working inventory" of some sort. Depending upon the size of your dealer this could vary from having no inventory at times like this, to raw material like ABC and Perth Mint have because they are also refineries. Your pick on who you use and what product you use - unallocated, pool allocated, or fully allocated. They all vary on the terms and conditions, some have independent auditing, some don't. Some are third party insured, some aren't. Some call unallocated as pool-allocated etc.
See our latest market update where i cover this https://www.abcbullion.com.au/investor-centre/pdf/investors-go-crazy-for-gold-and-silver we have more than enough metal coming in from mines, the backlog is the bar making machine.
Perhaps of interest, from Texas PM newsletter. Take with grain of salt, but RCM seems to go offline for a while. "Of significant consequence to the precious metals industry was the revelation this morning that The Royal Canadian Mint - one of the largest suppliers of precious metals coins and bars to the United States - is shutting down operations for at least two weeks. The effects of this shut down to available supply in the market cannot be understated. With new supply from Europe already cut off, and the enormous volume of forward selling domestically, there is almost no physical supply left in the market, and there won’t be for weeks."
no to paying high premium not doing pre order yet or we can is to wait...wait for sellers or wait after the Coronas vanished
Jim Rickards on Twitter: @JamesGRickards From the front lines of gold: Royal Canadian Mint closed for 2 weeks. U.S. Mint backordered a month in advance. Brinks JFK on half shifts (gold can't move). Brinks Utah recovering from earthquake. European refiners can't ship to U.S. (travel restrictions). Sorry, no gold for you.